The boccia delegation received the most votes, thanks to their performance at the Parapan American Games.

Argentina’s boccia team was chosen as the best team of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, after placing first in the BC1/BC2 class, in the competition that took place at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center.

The winners were decided by popular vote on the official website of the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC), where the Argentinian team received 51.57% of the votes, followed by the men’s goalball team with 44.81%, who were also a Lima 2019 champion.

The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team and US men’s wheelchair basketball team were also nominated for this award.

Argentina won the boccia championship by defeating Mexico 12-0 and Brazil 8-1 in exciting matches that were held in the Villa El Salvador Sports Center, specially built for the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

The APC decided to separate the Americas Athlete of the Month award into three different categories: Best Female Athlete, Best Male Athlete and Best Team, based on results obtained at Lima 2019.

Thus, Colombian Sara Vargas (Para swimming) was named Lima 2019 Best Female Athlete while Herbert Aceituno (Para powerlifting) was selected as Best Male Athlete.

The 2019 Americas Athlete of the Month winners are:

• January – Johanna Sossa and Johana Martínez, Colombia, wheelchair tennis

• February– Rebeca Valenzuela Álvarez, Mexico, Para athletics

• March – Matías Pino, Chile, Para table tennis

• April – Daniel Martins, Brazil, Para athletics

• May – Sherman Güity, Costa Rica, Para athletics

• June – Luis Flores, Chile, Para table tennis

• July – Juan Carlos Garrido, Chile, Para powerlifting

• August (Lima 2019 Best Female Athlete) – Sara Vargas, Colombia, Para swimming

• August (Lima 2019 Best Male Athlete) – Herbert Aceituno, El Salvador, Para powerlifting

• August (Lima 2019 Best Team) – Argentinian boccia team

INFORMATION FROM THE AMERICAS PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

We had not seen him in other sports venues but, without a doubt, his gesture of thanking the fans personally at the end of the competition, filled with emotion all the people who attended the Villa El Salvador Sports Center.

This is Carlos Cano Yañes, member of the Peruvian national Boccia team, who after the match against Argentinian Mauricio Ibarbure, accompanied by a person who helps him move in a wheelchair, went to the stands to the see the crowd that was cheering his name and also Peru throughout the game.

There, with halting words and tears in his eyes, Cano told the spectators: “Thank you very much for your support, on behalf of the Boccia team, thank you.” Immediately, some people were moved and began to sob and others took the cell phone to film this emotional moment of a Peruvian participating in the Parapan American Games.

Although the Peruvian lost the match against the Argentinian, the fans noticed that, in each throw of the ball and in each point, Cano showed courage and stamina.

Subsequently, through a dialog, Cano said that he carries the Peruvian flag in this sports competition with honor, pride, passion, and he shares that every time he plays.

“We as members of the Boccia national team want to give a message that our participation reaches thousands of people with impairments and also all Peruvians, so that the whole country notices that we are not invisible, that we are capable and we transmit that when we play,” he said.

He expressed that after the participation of Peru in Boccia, it is expected that more people can practice this sport and represent their country.

Boccia

Boccia is a sport of strategy and accuracy that was originally created for athletes with cerebral palsy, but it is currently played by people with different physical impairments.

In these Parapan American Games, Boccia has several sports classes divided into BC1, including athletes with cerebral palsy, who can have an assistant to perform actions such as passing the ball to them; BC2 for athletes with cerebral palsy who do not require an assistant; BC3 for those who have cerebral palsy or severe physical impairment. They participate using a ramp to throw the ball; and BC4 for athletes who have physical impairments other than cerebral palsy and throw without requiring an assistant.

The Peruvian team in these Games is made up of Dean Acosta, Carlos Cano, Javier Soto and María Cecilia Pancca.

Competitors in this sport have six balls of different colors (red and blue) and the game begins with the throwing of a white ball or target and the score is obtained for every ball that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s one.

More than 600 students and teachers of the N ° 7094 Sasakawa and Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo schools in Villa El Salvador had an exciting day and learned about boccia, a precision discipline that has been designed exclusively for people with cerebral palsy and motor impairment.

The pool stage of this competition started today at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center. Fifty-two Para athletes from 11 countries will compete for the seven medals awarded for this sport.

Young students from both schools attended this sports celebration, thanks to the second stage of the “Soy Lima 2019” campaign. Más de ochenta mil estudiantes se han beneficiado con las entradas solidarias. 

The principal of the Nº 7094 Sasakawa school, Ada Rosa Figueroa, said the Parapan American Games gave her students a life lesson because it allows them to learn about new sports and the Para athletes’ desire to move forward, as well as their struggles, enthusiasm and energy. Thanks to these experiences, students learn to value more what they have and what they can achieve.

The vice principal of the Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo school, Rosa Picho, said that thanks to the Parapan American Games, students are learning to be supportive of people with an impairment. Picho also highlights the sensitivity with them in each of the competitions she attended, which turns Lima into an impairment-friendly city.

Boccia: precision in each movement

It is a Para sport involving strategy and precision that was originally created for athletes with cerebral palsy, but nowadays it is played by people with different physical impairments.

Boccia has four sport classes: BC1 for Para athletes with cerebral palsy and may have a sport assistant to perform actions such as give the ball; BC2 for Para athletes with cerebral palsy who do not require an assistant; BC3 for those with cerebral palsy or a severe physical impairment who are allowed to use a ramp to throw the ball; and BC4 for athletes with non-cerebral impairments who do not require an assistant to throw the ball.

The Peruvian team for the Lima 2019 Games is made up of Dean Acosta, Carlos Cano, Javier Soto, and María Cecilia Pancca.

Boccia players have six balls of different colors (red and blue), and the game starts with a player throwing a white or target ball. A point is scored for each ball getting as close as possible to the target ball, in relation to the rivals.

“Soy Lima 2019” Campaign

The Lima 2019 Organizing Committee developed this initiative from April this year. The campaign has three stages. The first one included visiting many schools in Lima to teach the Olympic and Paralympic values such as equality, inspiration, courage, and determination through activations, socio-cultural activities and the participation of high-performance athletes.

In the second stage, students attend a competition to learn about new Para sport disciplines, so that they inspire more boys and girls, and raise awareness for the future. Also, it builds a society with more opportunities for people with an impairment.

The third and last stage will be the application of the lessons learned from the Pan American and Parapan American Games at the schools.

The Parapan American Games are in their final stage and this long weekend, which starts on August 29, will be the best chance to enjoy the last days of the event that has left a permanent mark in Peru’s sports history.

The experience of watching the competitions will, of course, be a win-win: our Para athletes will have the warm support of the public, while the public will be filled with motivation and pride when they see them triumph.

Guide for the Long Weekend

There are several Para sports that you can experience as a family, inside the impressive competition venues that, after the Games, will remain as a legacy for all Peruvians.

The competitions include the women’s wheelchair basketball semifinals, which will take place tomorrow with Canada versus Brazil and USA versus Argentina, in Sports Center 1 of VIDENA, starting at 18:30.

The boccia competition will take place during the morning session in the Villa El Salvador Sports Center, between 09:00 and 15:00. The Peruvian team will be competing thanks to Dean Tierry Acosta, Carlos Cano, María Cecilia Pancca and Javier Soto.

Boccia—an adaptation of the ancient Italian game ‘bocce’, played since the times of the Roman Empire—is just as much a sports event as it is a cultural one. Take part in these competitions from Thursday, August 29, to Sunday, September 1.

During the weekend, a good option is to cheer on Peruvian representative and flagbearer, Angélica Espinoza, in Para taekwondo (Miguel Grau Coliseum, Callao). The women’s and men’s competition, as well as the qualifiers, will take place this Friday and Saturday from 09:00 to 13:00. The medals will be decided on Friday and Saturday, starting at 15:00 until 20:00.

Another interesting option is wheelchair tennis. The defining matches will be contested starting tomorrow at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición, with the participation of the best tennis players in the world, such as Argentinian Gustavo Fernández. The winners will be decided between tomorrow and Friday, the final day of this Para sport.

Peruvian Support

Other Peruvians who need our support are Dunia Felices, Rodrigo Santillán and Harrison Linares, who will compete in Para swimming (VIDENA) until August 31, as well as the well-known and beloved Lima 2019 ambassadors, Pedro Pablo Vinatea and Pilar Jáuregui, who will compete in Para badminton (VIDENA) and will fight for the gold from August 29 to September 1. The competitions will take place in Sports Center 3 of VIDENA, with a good chance that our Para athletes will make it to the podium.

Another good option is goalball (Miguel Grau Coliseum, Callao), the only sport created specifically for people with a visual impairment. Support our fellow Peruvians until Saturday during two daily sessions (10:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 20:00). The ranking will be determined in the men’s semifinals, starting tomorrow.

Buy Your Tickets

Tickets for Lima 2019 Parapan American Games competitions can be purchased at the points of sale located in the Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco and Metro and Wong supermarkets in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco. 

You can also get your tickets on the Lima 2019 website www.lima2019.pe or Teleticket website https://teleticket.com.pe/lima2019.

Tickets start at PEN 10 and there will be a 50% discount for people under the age of 18 and over the age of 60, as well as people with an impairment.

Additionally, if you live in one of the districts where a Lima 2019 Parapan American Games sports venue is located, you can purchase general tickets for the various competitions for only PEN 5.

All you have to do is show your DNI at the ticket booths of the venues in Callao, Villa El Salvador, Villa María del Triunfo, San Luis, San Miguel, Santiago de Surco and Jesús María.

The National Paralympic Association of Peru announced that a total of 139 athletes will represent Peru at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, which will begin on August 23, becoming the largest delegation in its history.

The announcement was made by its President, Lucha Villar. “It’s an honor to announce that Peru will be represented by 139 young athletes. They successfully qualified and are the large group of Para athletes who will make us proud,” she said.

Peru will take part in 16 sports, including sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball as the ones with the largest number of competitors: 24 each (12 in women’s team and 12 in men’s team)

Furthermore, there will be Para athletes participating in boccia (4), football 5-a-side (10), football 7-a-side (14), goalball (12), judo (1), Para athletics (14), Para badminton (10), Para cycling (2), Para swimming (4), Para powerlifting (4), Para taekwondo (4), Para table tennis (4), Shooting Para sport (3) and wheelchair tennis (5).

As confirmed by Lucha Villar, the Peruvian delegation will be led by José González-Mugaburu, bronze medalist at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games.

“We are very confident, not only in good results that Peruvians will achieve but also in what they will represent. They are the best ambassadors for Para sports,” he said.

LET’S ALL PLAY: BUY YOUR TICKETS

Tickets for Lima 2019 competitions can be purchased at the 11 points of sale set up at Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco and Metro and Wong supermarkets in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.

Also, on the website www.lima2019.pe and on the Teleticket website: https://teleticket.com.pe/lima2019. The tickets for the Parapan American Games start at PEN 10 and there will be a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment.